Hammersmith Apollo, LondonTo enter the world of Disney's High School Musical Live on Stage is to enter a parallel universe. It is a world where mothers and six-year-old daughters arrive in m…
Sheffield Crucible studioPrebble's funny and heartbreaking play about a clinical trial for a new antidepressant " which might be 'a Viagra for the heart' " is cannily revivedUnder artistic d…
Greenwich and Docklands international festival, LondonFrom Artizani's colony of bizarre bees to Gandini Juggling's rock'n'roll show, this is a great showcase of al fresco performancesThe sun…
Ivo van Hove's Kings of War and Forced Entertainment's Complete Works prove that a performance is about far more than the textOver the last couple of weeks I've seen three very different ver…
A new show combining live action and film, to be broadcast on S4C, explores the colony formed in Argentina by settlers from Wales. Artist Marc Rees explains how he was seduced by their story…
Assembly Rooms, EdinburghYou often kill the thing you love, and in the toilets of a Hollywood nightclub where the hotel heiress is due to arrive at any minute the smell of Paris envy mingles…
Greenwich and Docklands festival, LondonFull of pyrotechnics, Periplum's large-scale production reworks Fahrenheit 451 for the modern worldWe may be a long way from burning books, but we are…
There's a new play from Mark Ravenhill in London, Maxine Peake stars in Caryl Churchill's The Skriker in Manchester, and the experiences of returning veterans are explored in both Bristol an…
National Theatre temporary space, LondonTim Crouch's two-hander about bereavement " in which half the cast haven't seen the play " circles elegantly around ideas of reality, certainty and ev…
Some of today's most interesting theatre is being made with audiences, not just for them. That's key to keeping the arts aliveLast week's Devoted and Disgruntled (D&D)/In Battalions even…
At this time of year, you'll find plenty of actors breaking down in laughter. Irritating and unprofessional " or can it bring a production alive?On the press night of Cinderella at the Lyric…
The star's stumble and subsequent recovery at the opening night of Educating Rita will win him more bouquets than brickbats"I've completely gone," declared Lenny Henry during the press night…
Watford Palace theatreThis ambitious attempt to examine the health service is at its best when it deals in striking imagesThe NHS takes care of us, but are we taking enough care of the NHS? …
A busy season of new works inspired by the discovery of Anglo-Saxon treasure is being staged at the New Vic theatre in Newcastle-under-LymeAt 11.45am on 5 July 2009, Terry Herbert, a keen me…
We no longer accept white actors blacking up " yet the able-bodied Daniel Radcliffe is playing a physically disabled character in the West End. How come?As I've written here recently, it's i…
Forced Entertainment tackle all of Shakespeare's plays on a table top, Lucy Prebble's The Effect gets its regional premiere in Sheffield, Maxine Peake's Beryl is back in Leeds and Punchdrunk…
Stadsschouwburg, AmsterdamThis epic reimagining of Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III makes for an explosive examination of political leadership and present-day powerThere is a moment during …
We all know that theatregoing is a habit " the more you see, the more you want to see. But how do you encourage audiences to try new venues?Recent British Theatre Consortium research found t…
Park theatre, LondonNick Darke's 1986 play about a couple who have lost their sparkle offers a few laughs, but its sexual politics look hackneyedNick Darke, who died 10 years ago, wrote for …
Helen Mirren thinks that you need to be a teenager to enjoy Shakespeare, but the sooner children encounter the plays in performance the less likely they will dismiss them as difficult and du…
Archway Mall, LondonThis experimental show about the relationship between old and young, past and present offers snapshots of ageing and everyday life through a shop windowPeer through a sho…
West End shows offer big savings for children in August. Here's our pick of the hottest stage productions for summer days out in the cityAugust in London, and there are often seats to fill i…
Clifton primary school, BirminghamThe RSC's cleverly pared-down version of Shakespeare's history plays for schools is full of engaging touches and vivacious performances There is talk of hor…
Kafka is adapted in Manchester and London, National Theatre Scotland takes audiences for a drive in Edinburgh, David Suchet becomes Lady Bracknell and Robert Wilson performs in Beckett at th…
Arcola, LondonRose Lewenstein's heartfelt play " about the pains and surprises of rediscovering the past " is flawed but watchable and well scriptedWhat is history, and how much are our live…